Hydraulic steering-gear.



I. L, MARTINEAU.

HYDRAULIC `QTEBRING GEAR.

APPLIcAx-lou 11mm A111125. 1910.

1,056,1 94, Patented Mar. 18, 1913.

. lts object to provide an eiective hydraulic To all whom z't may concern Qvariable stroke reversible pump .associated 41909, the stroke of which pump is set and UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS LEIGH MARTINEAU, OE LONDON, ENGLAND.

HYDRAULIC STEERING-GEAR.

' Application filed April a5,

Be it known that I,`FRANcIs LEIGH MAR- TINEAU, a subject of the King of' Great Britain, residing at London, in the county of London, England, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hydraulic Steering- Gear, of wlich the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a new or imroved marine steering gear, and. has for apparatus controlled from the steering wheel of a ship, by means of which the ships rudder is operated to effect the steering of' the vessel.

My invention consists essentially of a with a continuously rotating electric or other motor and so controlled that hydraulic rams connected to the rudder -are operated soas to cause the rudder to take up the. correct angle when the steerin wheel is operated and remain at that ang e until the steering wheel is again rotated. And in order that my invention may be more readil understood andcarried intopractice, re erence is hereby made to the accompanying drawing which illustrates diagrammatically a simple example of a complete steerin gear constructed in accordance with my lnvention.

Referrin to this drawing a designates a continuous y driven electric or other motor which is coupled to drive continuously the cylinder body of the pump b which is preferably of the form set forth in the specification 0f British Letters Patent No. 12574 of regulated b the movement of a ring connected to t e push rod o. That is to say, the movement of the rod c causes a ring within the pump to be set in positions of varying degrees of eccentricity to the pri mary axis of the pump and thus the stroke of the pump is varied. Moreover the direction in which liquid is discharged from the pump is also dependent on the position of the said eccentric ring. The inlet and outlet orifices of the pump b are connected by means of the pipes d and e with the cylinders 1 and g1 of the rams f and which are vSpecification of Letters liatent.

suita ly connected to the rudA er head h.

Patented Mar. 18, 1913.` 1910.v seria1n.557,5s7. l

The stroke varying rod c of the pump b is pivotally connected to a lever 1., and this lever z' is connected to one arm of a bell crank lever'j movable on a fixed pivot j, the other arm of the bell crank lever j taking the form of a worm quadrant operated b v a worm rotatino with the steering wheel r. The end of the lever z' remote from the bell crank j is pivotally connected by a link il to a lever Z'movable about a fixed pivot Z1 and this lever l has a slot-ted end l in which a 1 pin m fixed upon and moving with the rams f and g is located.

In order to provide for any leakage which may. occur in the pum system, pipes or ducts are led from both t e pipe connections between the pump and the two rams to a liquid containing tank or reservoir n, and the ends 'of the pipes within this tank or -reservoir are each provided with al nonreturnI valve o.

The operation of the gear is as follows The motor a is continuously rotated but normally no liquid is circulated owing to the eccentric ring of the pump b being normally 'in position concentric with the primary axis of the pump. If the steering wheel k is rotated the bell crank lever 7' will be turned about its pivot and the lever z' will move carrying with it the rod c connected to the stroke setting and varying ring of the pump b. By this means the pump will be given a stroke and will commence to discharge liquid under pressure through one or other of the pipes d or e according, of course, to the direction in which the steering wheel is rotated. Thus one of the rams f or g will bc actuated and the rudder will thus be given the desired angle.- The movement of the rams will cause the lever l to be turned about its pivot Z* by rea-...n engagement ofthe pin m in its slotted end Z2, and thus through the agency of the levers z" and z', the rod c is moved back again to its normal position and the pump b ceases to transmit liquid, and the rudder remains in the set position until the steering wheel k is again operated. It will be clear that if the steering wheel Z-v is now rotated to the same extent in the o posite direction the rudder will be returned to its original position. l may of course employ a teleinotor to operate the rod c to impart stroke to the pump b in a similar way to that in which such apparatus is now ordinarily employed to operate the valves of lsteam steering apparatus. I also provide means whereby the rudder can be operated by manual effort alone, the power being tra-nsmitted hydraulically. In order to effect this I' provide a second pump p .driven direct-ly from.' the secondary steering wheel p1. This pump is connected up to the original circuit by the pipes q, 'r thus constituting a new circuit worked by the aforesaid pump p. It is essential that only one of the two circuits'be closed at any time and therefore stop-valves d1,- el, g* and fr are provided by which either of the said circuits may be brought into use as required.

In order toremploy the ower circuit, it is necessary to shut down tiie' valves g1 and r1 and open the valves'cl1 and el. Liquid can then flow from the pump I) through the pipes (l and e of the first circuit, but is pre' vented from flowing in the pipes g and i' of the secdnd. When it is desirable or neces- Y sary to employ the hand operated gear the valves (it and e1 are, shut down andthe valves g1 and 7' opened. Liquid can then flow by way of the pipes g, 1, d and e to the rams f and g, but is prevented by the closed valves (l1 and e from flowing to the pumpb. A stop valve s is provided in the pipe t which connects the cylinders 'f1 and g". lVhe-n the apparatus is working this valve must be kept closed, otherwise there will be a free flow ofyliquid therethrough and no power would be transmitted to the rams. The objects of this valve are, first, to allow a free circulation of liquid during the charging of the system and t-lius render it pos-- sible to expel all the air from the pipes by continued circulation of vliquid and Secondly to permit of the rudder being returned to the zero position should the power driven gear become disabledv while the ship has any helm.

It will be seeuthat the device of my invention is designed for operating on or `movement and which in a shifted controlling a rudder which in its normal position is subjected to resistance against osition is adapted to be moved because of tie impact or action of the water tliereagainst.4 In t-he normal position of the rudder the same is in an equilibrium of pressure on both sides whereas in a shifted position the rudder is acted upon with greater force on one side than the other.

What l claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. In a ship steering gear comprising a -ruddcr post and steering wheel, the combiconnected to said` rudder post, a continuously operating variable stroke reversible pump for supplying motive fluid to actuate said motor, and a floating gear having operative connection with said wheel, motor and pump whereby a movement of the wheel initiates a flow of fluid from the pump to the motor and movement of the otor will act to terminate such flowof fllld.

2. In a shipsteering gear c mprising a rudder post and steering wheel, the combination of a fluid pressure motor operatively connected with` said rudder post, a continuously operating pump for supplying motive fluid to actuate said motor, said pum having adjusting means for reversing an varying the stroke, a floating gear having operative connection with said pump adjusting means anda worin connection with said wheel, and a lever actuated by said presv sure motor and operatively connected with said floating gear whereby the wheel will move and lock the pump adjusting, means and initiate a. flow of fluid from the pump to the motor and movement of the Amotor will actuate said lever to shift the gear and terminate the flow of fluid to lock the rud der post. l i

3. In a ship steering gear comprising a rudder postandsteering Wheel, the combination of a fluid pressure motor voperatively connected to said rudder post a cont-inuously operating pump for supplying motive fluid to actuate said motor, said pum haviiig adjusting mea-ns for reversing an varying the stroke, and a floating gear having a worm connect-ion with said wheel and operatively connected. with said motor and pump adjusting means whereby a movementof the wheel will move and lock the pump adjusting means and initiate a flow of liqui fromthe pump to the motor and'movement of the motor will act to terminate the flow of fluid.

4.4 In a steering system, a steering mechansm, a motor adapted to be run constantly in one direction, a reversible, variable fluid delivery pump, meansl for constantly driving said pump from said motor, a reversible fluid motor operatively connected so as to be variably and reversibly driven by the delivery of said pump, means operatively connecting said steering mechanism with said fluid motor and means for reversingand varying the operation of saidpump.

5. In a steerin system, a steering mechanism, a source o power adapted to be run constantly in one direction, a reversible, variable fluid delivery pump, means for constantly driving said pum from said source of power, a reversible uid motor operatively connected so as to be variably driven in either phase of motion by the delivery of said pump, means operatively connecting said steering mechanism with said Huid mo- In testimony whereof I have aixed my tor and adjustable means for progressively signature in presence of two witnesses. varying the amount of liquid delivered in FRANCIS LEIGH MARTINEAU. either phase and for reversing the phase by Witnesses:

5 a continued adjustment of said means in the AUGA A. THORNTON,

one direction. y RIPLEY VVILsoN. 

